So far I have only touched on youth development from a ball manipulation and decision-making viewpoint. However, playing in competitive games non-stop can also hinder the physical development and health of players. Again, the local adage that ‘the more you play, the better you get’ is misleading on this count. …
Read More »Barney’s bible: ‘The more games you play, the better you get’ fallacy leaves T&T players underdeveloped
Youth development in Trinidad, simply put, consists of tournaments and competitions. The Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL), Youth Pro League (YPL), Republic Bank Youth League, Next Level U-19 Tournament and Commissioner’s Cup are the main players in this arena. I will use the SSFL as the starting point of the …
Read More »Barney’s bible: Does T&T player development follow best practices? Are our youth competitions helping or hurting?
A question on The Burdie and Barney podcast during our discussion with former England Premier League and 2006 World Cup goalkeeper Shaka Hislop lingered long after that episode was over: Have we been developing players? Or were we just blessed with talented players previously and, now, not so much? At …
Read More »Former World Cup assistant referee and lay minister, Gonzales, elected SSFL president
Former 1998 Fifa World Cup assistant referee Merere Louis Gonzales, a retired teacher at Success RC and Mt Hope Secondary and a lay minister at the Maloney, D’Abadie and Mausica RC churches, is the new Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) president, following a resounding win in the SSFL’s virtual annual …
Read More »Dear Editor: Malls packed, beaches crowded, new movies in cinema; yet they pick on sports
“[…] Last Saturday, the malls were jam-packed with juveniles and police had to be called in to disperse the crowd. Beaches remain open and quite obviously will be crowded this weekend, just as they were reported to be last weekend, while there are sure to be new movies released in the cinema. …
Read More »‘Obstacles are part of the process’, TTOC toasts T&T’s sporting ‘game-changers’
Trinidad and Tobago international swimmer Dylan Carter and cyclist Teniel Campbell, the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee’s (TTOC) Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year respectively, reminisced on the most tumultuous year of their sporting careers—after being toasted by the TTOC at its Annual Awards Gala on 29 December, which was …
Read More »Grosvenor receives TTOC’s Chapman award; Carter and Campbell get major 2020 sport gongs
Former St Anthony’s College and Queen’s Royal College (QRC) football coach Nigel Grosvenor was recognised posthumously for his contribution to sport yesterday, as the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) presented him with the Alexander B Chapman award. The award, named after the former TTOC president, is meant to serve …
Read More »Coaches association meets SSFL coaches, TTSL and WoLF next
The following is a press statement from the National Football Coaches of Trinidad and Tobago (NFCTT): The National Football Coaches of Trinidad and Tobago (NFCTT) continued its town hall-styled meetings on Saturday 28th November 2020. The guests of this meeting were the Secondary School Football League (SSFL) Premier Division coaches. …
Read More »‘Irreplaceable!’ Hyland, Saunders and Phillip pay tribute to late ‘Mr Brinsley’
East Mucurapo Secondary football team manager Brinsley Hutson passed away yesterday at the Mt Hope Hospital, where he was warded since suffering a stroke last Friday. Hutson, who worked in sales at Massy Technologies, was one of the first crop of students at the then Mucurapo Senior Comprehensive in the …
Read More »‘Grosvenor had the gift of understanding the teenage spirit’; SSFL honours iconic coach
“[…] As we got to know him better it became abundantly clear that he did not do it to make a name for himself (which happened anyway) or to win championships (which his teams did anyway). Instead, he wanted to shape young individuals to act as leaders. “[Nigel] Grosvenor had …
Read More »‘Fly with the angels, Grovy!’ A footballing tribute to iconic SSFL coach Nigel Grosvenor
Trinidad and Tobago lost a giant of its youth football arena today, at roughly 3am. Former St Anthony’s College and Queen’s Royal College (QRC) football coach Nigel ‘Grovy’ Grosvenor passed away at the Couva Hospital this morning, more than a month after he was admitted there—following a positive test for …
Read More »Grosvenor grateful for love and prayers, iconic ex-St Anthony’s coach hospitalised for Covid-19
Iconic Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) coach and former Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) national youth team coach Nigel ‘Grovey’ Grosvenor is among 828 persons being treated for the novel coronavirus at present, within the Ministry of Health’s parallel health care system. Grosvenor was admitted to the Couva General …
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